Tag: Top Gear

Top Gear Goes American

Though I’m not a car guy the show hooked me because it seemed so real and its hosts so likable.

I just watched a trailer for Top Gear which is coming to History Channel.

History Channel or The History Channel? Their website doesn’t have the word history appearing next to the word channel. Not once!

I love Top Gear, a BBC production featuring three very British guys and many cars I’ve never heard of. I’m not a car nut. The show hooked me because it seemed so real and its hosts so likable.

I didn’t see that same joie de vivre from the Americans. One event set-up seemed very stiff and uncomfortable. The event itself was interesting, but BBC’s version seems more interesting and more emotional.

It’s tough to judge a full series based on a short trailer. It’s the Internet. Everyone’s got opinions!

I’d like it to be a hit.

If I Were A Car Guy

People see me tooling around in my little two seater and figure I must be a car guy. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know nothing about cars and have never lusted after them.

Maybe this has to do with growing up in New York City where public transportation was plentiful and parking spaces were not. I didn’t get my drivers license until I was 19!

So, you now have my bona fides. Yet I love “Top Gear,” the BBC2 car show that’s freely available on YouTube.

It’s obvious the three hosts have an affection toward automobiles. They also know enough not to take themselves, or their cars, too seriously. The show is vigorously irreverent.

With that in mind, let me make two recommendations. In this first clip, they do everything possible to kill a Toyota Hilux pickup truck. In the second, they send a car down an Olympic ski ramp. A third clip features Minis playing hockey.

If you’re a car nut, you’ll enjoy these. If you’re not, I’m curious to hear your impressions.

Why isn’t this on US TV?